How Could You? Hall of Shame-Samora Cousin case-Child Death UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Phoenix, Arizona, 4-month-old foster daughter Samora Cousin ” died in the backseat of a van Tuesday afternoon, according to Phoenix police.

She was in the care of a foster parent who told officers he picked up the baby for an appointment and forgot to drop her off again before returning to work at the Washington Elementary School District Service Center, where he was a supervisor.

ABC15 has learned through law enforcement sources and those who know the foster family that the father is Roger Ham. Ham has not been arrested or charged with any crimes.

Ham and his partner received extensive media coverage over the past decade for their role in fostering and adopting more than a dozen children.

The same-sex couple was even featured on Good Morning America in 2011, where anchor George Stephanopoulos mentioned an award they received from Child Protective Services for all the work they had done to provide children in need a home.

Tragically, the family is now receiving media attention for the death of a baby in their care. The biological parents of Samora tell ABC15 they are devastated and angry at the loss of their child, who they were told was in safe hands.

“She was so amazing. She was such a little personality,” said Jennifer Haley, Samora’s biological mother.

May 21, 2019, was one of the best days of Wesley Cousin and Jennifer Haley’s life. “My first daughter. Words cannot explain just the first time I held her,” said Wesley, Samora’s biological father.

The couple’s joy was cut short when the state took custody of their daughter just as they were preparing to leave the hospital. “They said that I was using drugs with her when I was pregnant,” said Haley.

The parents would occasionally get to visit their baby. Haley told ABC15 she thought she would be holding Samora this morning.

“When I got there, the cops were there and I thought they were going to arrest me. But they said they were there because my daughter is dead,” said Haley, choking back tears. Haley said she was notified roughly 18 hours after police and the state found out their baby passed away.

In a statement, the Department of Child Safety told ABC15:

“The Department mourns the tragic loss of this innocent child and we send our condolences and prayers to the child’s loved ones. We attempted to notify the parents as quickly as possible…Our first priority is to ensure the safety of any other children that might be living in the home of the foster placement. Our team worked this investigation with Phoenix Police Department well into the morning hours Wednesday.”

The Ham family did not answer their door when ABC15 reached out to get their comments for this story.

A neighbor said he saw the family’s van return Wednesday afternoon. He noticed it Tuesday, on the news, surrounded by police cars.

The biological parents, Wesley and Haley, say they want to see the baby’s foster father arrested. “If it was me, and I did something like that, I would’ve been booked hours ago,” said Wesley.

The parents also say they plan to sue the Arizona Department of Child Safety.

Regardless of what happens next, four parents and many siblings will never be the same. More than that, one little girl has lost her chance of ever growing up.

“The first day of school, we don’t get that. First soccer game, we don’t get that,” said Wesley. “Not even having the chance to at least call me dad.”

Haley also told ABC15 that two of her sons were also foster children in the care of the Ham family.

DCS said they could not comment on how many kids, adopted or fostered, the Ham’s were caring for, or what may happen to them now.”

Biological and foster parents devastated after baby girl found dead in a van

[ABC 15 10/3/19 by Zach Crenshaw]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update: “Phoenix police detectives have submitted a charge for negligent homicide against a foster father after the death of his four-month-old foster child.

The Maricopa County Attorney has not yet made a decision.

Samora Cousin died in the back of Roger Ham’s van on October 1. Detectives say Ham forgot the baby in the backseat before heading into work at the Washington Elementary School District Service Center.

“I understand he’s a very good man. He’s a parent. He’s adopted children,” said Detective Luis Samudio, the day of the tragedy.[No, he is a very,very bad man!]

Ham and his partner, Steven, have adopted more than a dozen children and were recognized nationally for their work fostering and adopting kids as a same-sex couple. Roger was also awarded for his work at the school district, where he is a supervisor.

A spokesperson with the Washington Elementary School District told ABC15 that Ham has been on leave during the police investigation.

“He’s a foster parent; he had no intention of hurting a kid. He wanted to help kids,” said one neighbor, who lived near the school district.

While the investigation is ongoing, detectives submitted their case to the county attorney in just 16 days. More than a month later, the new top prosecutor, Allister Adel, has not made a decision about whether or not to move forward with charges.

Samora’s cause of death is still pending, according to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office.

“Any time a child dies in a parent’s hands, they are always very difficult cases,” said former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley.

Romley said he deliberated over the charging of countless negligent homicide cases where children tragically died.

“We looked for some type of really, truly gross negligence. Not just a mistake, it had to be something much more severe than that,” said Romley.”My daughter did not deserve to die the way she did,” said Jennifer Haley, Samora’s biological mother.

Prosecutors also have to believe they can win the case.

“These are very difficult to a jury,” said Romley. “Juries relate that mistakes do happen with parents.”

Samora’s biological parents are not a jury, though, and not sympathetic when it comes to the death of their child.

Both parents told ABC15 that the submittal by police is a step toward justice, but they hope the county attorney files charges.

“I hope something is done on the justice side of this. I think he should be charged with something. He needs to be held responsible for his actions,” said Haley.

For one family, charges would bring some closure; for the other, it would mean more heartbreak and tragedy.

MCAO could not say when a final charging decision would be made, but Romley said it would likely be soon. The Department of Child Safety, meanwhile, says their investigation is ongoing, and they are unable to say what is happening with the other foster children in the Ham household.”

Phoenix police submit homicide charge against foster father in baby’s death

[ABC 15 11/22/19 by Zach Crenshaw]

Update 2:“The Maricopa County Attorney has decided not to charge a foster father with negligent homicide after the death of his four-month-old foster child.

The decision was supposed to be final and the case completely closed. However, during a meeting with the MCAO, the little girl’s biological parents told prosecutors “they have evidence that has not yet been reviewed.”

The evidence, according to the biological parents, has to do with the treatment of Samora Cousin’s biological siblings, two of whom are also in the foster care of the Ham family. “We have pictures, we have video,” said Samora’s biological father, Wes Cousin. “We have evidence from the inside.”

The county attorney’s office says while their decision was to not move forward with negligent homicide charges, they “agreed to coordinate with law enforcement and review this specific piece of evidence.”

“The family said that they have additional evidence that they would like presented in consideration. So we are going to connect the family with the police department so they can look into this additional piece of evidence,” said Jennifer Liewer, a spokesperson with MCAO.

Samora died in the back of Roger Ham’s van on October 1. Detectives say Ham forgot the baby in the backseat before heading into work at the Washington Elementary School District Service Center. Her official cause of death is still pending, according to the Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office.

“I understand he’s a very good man. He’s a parent. He’s adopted children,” said Phoenix Police Detective Luis Samudio, on the day of the tragedy.[Complete BS!]

Ham and his partner, Steven, have adopted more than a dozen children and were recognized nationally for their work fostering and adopting kids as a same-sex couple. Roger was also awarded for his work at the school district, where he was a supervisor.

“He’s a foster parent; he had no intention of hurting a kid. He wanted to help kids,” said one neighbor, who lived near the school district.

“Any time a child dies in a parent’s hands, they are always very difficult cases,” said former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley.

Romley said he deliberated over the charging of countless negligent homicide cases where children tragically died. “We looked for some type of really, truly gross negligence. Not just a mistake, it had to be something much more severe than that,” said Romley.

Prosecutors also have to believe they can win the case. “These are very difficult to a jury,” said Romley. “Juries relate that mistakes do happen with parents.”

Samora’s biological parents are not a jury, though, and not sympathetic when it comes to the death of their child.

“She she was in the car for six hours,” said Jennifer Haley, the baby’s biological mother.”

“They tried to make us believe that things were really an accident,” said Cousin. Haley and Cousin have wanted charges since day one.

On Tuesday, they said prosecutors with the county attorney’s office told them, “that it was closed [and] they were not going to charge him with anything.”

The currently uninvestigated evidence would have to pertain to Samora’s death in order for the prosecutors to change their initial decision. “With the evidence that we currently have, it did not support criminal prosecution,” said Liewer.

Since the tragedy, Roger Ham has resigned as a supervisor with the Washington Elementary school district. It is unknown whether he is still allowed to foster kids.

The Arizona Department of Child Safety is still conducting their own investigation into the death. Samora’s biological parents say the will not stop until someone is held accountable. “I’m not going to let my daughter be swept under the rug,” said Haley.

The MCAO released the following statement to ABC15 Tuesday:

“Our office met with the family today to inform them of our decision to not press criminal charges in this case. However, during that meeting the next of kin indicated they have evidence that has not yet been reviewed. We have agreed to coordinate with law enforcement and review this specific piece of evidence.””

Foster father will not face charges in death of 4-month-old girl

[ABC 15 12/18/19]

Update 3:“The Department of Child Safety has released more information about the death of a 4-month-old girl who was left in a hot car by her foster father in 2019.

The baby girl, Samora Cousin, died in the back of Roger (Robert) Young-Ham’s van on October 1. Detectives said the man forgot the baby in the backseat before heading to work at Washington Elementary School District Service Center.

An autopsy found that the girl’s died from heat exposure. It was also ruled to be an accident and no charges were filed against Young-Ham.

On Tuesday, months later, the Arizona Department of Child Safety released an updated statement about the case after investigating the pasts of Young-Ham and the girl.

Young-Ham was an “unlicensed kinship placement” at the time of the incident, according to DCS’ report. His foster license expired in 2010.

DCS also said that its department had investigated Young-Ham before.

In 2014, DCS received a report that Young-Ham had physically abused a child, but the report was unsubstantiated and the case was closed.

Young-Ham and his partner, Steven, had adopted more than a dozen children and were recognized nationally for their work fostering and adopting kids as a same-sex couple. He was also awarded for his work at the school district, where he was a supervisor.

In May 2019, DCS officials received a report that Cousin was being neglected by her parents. She reportedly tested positive for methamphetamines at the time of her birth and she was placed in an unlicensed kinship home. The case was still open at the time of the girl’s death.

Cousin’s biological parents wanted charges against Young-Ham after their daughter’s death.

Cousin’s mother, Jennifer Haley, said she was notified of her daughter’s death about 18 hours after the incident.

After the incident, ABC15 learned that the girl’s biological siblings were also in the foster care of the Ham family.”

Department of Child Safety investigated baby, foster father before 2019 hot-car death

[ABC15 6/16/2020]